Fancy pulling an older man?
Out of a car? Or working with the young to promote fire safety? Find out what it really means to be a Firefighter with the London Fire Brigade.
Firefighting has traditionally not been seen as a role for women – the common assumption being that you’re out fighting fires all the time and you need to be really strong, super fit and therefore a man. This is far from the truth.
A Fire Officer in the London Fire Brigade today spends only 5% to 7% of their time responding to incidents. The vast majority of the job is promoting fire safety and preventing fires from starting in the first place. Everything from sitting down with older people to help them protect their homes to standing up in front of a class of teenagers to teach them about fire safety.
There’s no doubt you have to be fit. But not superhuman. When women come along to our open days, they soon realise that the fitness levels required are not as intimidating as they first imagined. Even if they’re not at that level yet, we can create their very own fitness programmes to help them get there.
The nature of the job means that it’s as much about your attitude as your physical ability. You need to be comfortable presenting to a group of school children or talking one-on-one to an older person. You can also develop a career. Because of the way we’re structured, you can decide when you’re ready to take the exams to reach the next level, either on the operational side or moving into a different type of role. There are already women who have made Assistant Divisional Officer, running a number of stations.
Of course, many people still think of firemen as ‘hunky men’ – and that’s not a perception that’s going to change quickly. But actually female firefighters are just as important as male ones – and it’s important that women realise that they have the chance to save lives and build a lasting career.
To find out more about our fitness clinics and open days for women, call Dawne Marks on 020 7587 6166 or email
dawne.marks@london-fire.gov.uk.
Disclaimer:
Some of the news articles on this website have been provided by third parties. Any views / opinions expressed in any article on this website
don't necessarily match the views / opinions of the website owner.
Contact the website owner if you have any issues regarding a news article, remembering to quote the
ID of the article (shown below the subject).